Montessori

Unique About MVJIS

Montessori students learn through hands-on experience rather than instruction

Our program builds a resilient foundation for 21st century learners. We would like to travel with each child, holding his or her hand only when necessary, allowing individual learning and discovery but with the assurance that support is available.

" I hear, I forget:
I see, I remember:
I experience, I understand. "

Dr. Maria Montessori

Reimagining Education

A day at MONT

At MVJIS, the option of Montessori day Programme is designed for children of Playgroup and Montessori from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm. We have seen in the past that the interaction with peers and teachers in a planned and structured manner goes a long way.

Art @ MVJIS

Art at MVJIS is a serious programme. Even older children first draw and then write. Somehow the world takes away this ability in later years. At MVJIS, art starts early with an exploration of color and advances into an understanding of art from around the world, developing children's own innate style over the years.

Art @ MVJIS

Art at MVJIS is a serious programme. Even older children first draw and then write. Somehow the world takes away this ability in later years. At MVJIS, art starts early with an exploration of color and advances into an understanding of art from around the world, developing children's own innate style over the years.

Grow to Read, Read to Grow

Early literacy skills- defined as those, which begin to develop in the preschool years- includes alphabet knowledge, letter writing, phonological awareness, and oral language. Moreover, reading aloud has been singled out as the most important activity in acquiring literacy.

Montessori Methodology

MONT-I 2.8 years, MONT-II 3.8 years, MONT-III 4.8 years

Children are sheltered by warmth of individual attention by special Montessori trained teachers. Students work with stimulating materials to develop concentration and a love for learning.

Children are divided into the following categories on the basis of their age – Montessori Playgroup, Montessori I – Sub Juniors, Montessori II - Juniors and Montessori III - Seniors. Each section is called an Environment limited to 20 children. A daily routine of prayer time, brain-gym time, rhyme time, work time and play time, is established.

The Montessori system develops a sense of responsibility and independence in children. Activity based learning is the core of this methodology.

Playtime:+

To improve motor skills and focus on the importance of play and learning, our Montessori children spend a designated amount of time at the school sandpit. Gardening is also a vital part of the weekly schedule.

Exercise of Practical Life:+

Practical Life activities are at the heart of the Montessori classroom. Through these activities, students are given the chance to refine their motor skills, hand-eye coordination, hand strength, balance, concentrations and the ability to do things independently. The program focuses more on the practice than the result. Through repetition of these exercises, children pick up practical skills that will serve them for all their lives.

Love for Reading:+

Great emphasis is laid on developing a love for books through the school reading program. Special time is allocated for reading, storytelling and related activities to build students comprehension, spelling and appreciation for the written word.

Sensorial Activities:+

These help shape and refine a child’s perspective of qualities like colour, size, shape, length, texture, smell, taste and sound. Through sensorial activities, they become acute observers and make better judgement of the many stimuli in their environment.

Special Days:+

Theme based celebrations - Festivals, events, annual days, Father’s day, grandparent’s day and other appreciation days are also observed according to the school calendar.

Daily Quest

9:30 am to 1:30 pm
Sat-Sun happy holidays for Montessori.

Why the world works the way it does? Do birds have ears? How do wheels move? How do we have different seasons? These are some of the important relevant questions that pre-schoolers are curious about; learning with inquiry and thinking purposefully with direction and interest is essential in the classrooms of the Montessori students during the Quest sessions.

Early childhood is the stage where students are open minded, curious and stimulated with new thoughts and ideas. This is the perfect opportunity for the students to be engaged with scaffolded interactions, discussions and conversations that will begin to set them off on an inquiry cycle. The Quest classroom aims to keep the thirst for new knowledge and information alive with various sensorial and stimulating experiences.

Students are taken through the journey of guided inquiry in the classrooms with themes that are chosen at the beginning of the term. Various subjects like science, social science, and arts are chosen for the inquiry cycle. Multiple skills and personal development opportunities are thrown into the classroom discussions to help students enjoy the experiences that a Quest classroom has to offer. Each unit of inquiry is covered for a period of five weeks with activities, interactions, collaborative discussions and individual portfolio assignments. Often, students come forth with new perspectives and ideas that further extend the unit of inquiry to new dimensions and areas.

*Please note that all these activities are made available to the student based on his/her progress. As per their wish, students can also attempt activities that were previously covered. The pace of each activity is unhurried and teachers are available for assisting students with their activity.

Performing Arts+

Performing arts is integrated into the curriculum at the Montessori level to target multiple skills on the personal and interpersonal level of the students. While participating in the performing arts classes, students begin to learn basic loco motor movements and skills that harness multiple areas of learning like mathematical skills, sensorial skills, visual skills and higher order thinking skills. Students begin to appreciate themselves and learn to work collaboratively with their peers for the activities that are designed. A session in performing arts might include a range of activities and lessons designed to target specific skills like pantomimes, physical movement classes, role- plays, activities to instill imagination and creativity, enjoying songs and rhymes and making sense of different stimuli presented to them.

Students begin the year with basic movement classes, collaborative activities, skills that help them to be more expressive and creative while learning to be independent thinkers and risk takers. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively for activities to hone new skills and abilities that include listening and speaking activities, dramatic play and enjoying other kinaesthetic activities.

Show and Tell+

Show and Tell in the early childhood classroom has numerous benefits for young children. These early oral experiences help to build effective communication and listening skills that are essential for a young student's development. It also encourages emotional development in the student, as he or she shares their interests, favourite objects, important people, and exciting experiences with their peers. Students begin to learn the importance of body language, active listening and eye contact with their audience. They understand time and the restrictions it brings for a speaker and how hence it is very important to think, reflect and prepare in advance for a show and tell experience in the classroom. Students also learn about turn taking and patience while enhancing their spoken language skills.

Visual Arts+

The creative arts classes are filled with new and familiar experiences of dabbling and working with different art materials and resources. Little children enjoy working with materials that include crayons, oil pastels, watercolours and acrylic paints. A step by step progression of fine and gross motor skills are planned for the students to build up their hand eye coordination skills and later build more complex skills while working with different techniques and creative processes while continuing to help students use their creativity and imagination to express their thoughts and ideas on different mediums. The art classes encourages students to enhance their social, emotional and cognitive skills as students are encouraged to think on their own and implement their ideas on paper in group formats and independently.

Montessori-II : Students begin the year with basic skills like scribbling, drawing within a provided space, learning how to use and take care of different art materials, colouring with purpose, free drawing experiences and targeting structured skills as well.

Montessori III : Students identify their primary and secondary colours and are encouraged to use lines, patterns and shapes in individual drawings and group art work. Students are made familiar with the elements of art and are given opportunities to apply different artistic techniques in their work. Students dabble with paint and crayons to create their own masterpieces representing their individuality and creativity throughout the school year.

Play Time+

Play is the child’s work. Play programs at school give teachers and students the chance to play together in a safe and stimulating environment. Play time for the students includes opportunities to play outside the classrooms in the playground, play area or sand pit. Students’ physical and gross motor skills are encouraged during free play as both young boys and girls indulge in activities that peak their interests by choosing activities like building sand castles, walking on the sand, running around the playground or climbing the play equipment. Conversations and interactions among the students are the most animated in the play area as students discuss, share and communicate with their peers about multiple topics of interest to them. Kinaesthetic movements that are planned for the students during play time enhance their movements and ensure the students benefit on multiple levels from these experiences.

Activity Time+

The Montessori students have activity time interspersed into the time table. Teachers select and place appropriate resources/materials for students to engage with to address multiple cognitive skills like memory, concentration, attention and problem solving skills. The manipulatives that are provided to students might include building blocks, different sized balls, natural and recyclable materials and miniature objects that can be used to engage in role play and pretend play activities. Simple cooperative games are kept ready for the students to manipulate and use while engaging in conversations with their peers. Appropriate materials are set intentionally for the students to feel excited and motivated enough to want to work with these materials. Teachers facilitate and engage the students with meaningful conversations while at the activity centre.

Puppetry+

Puppet time at school is both entertaining and captivating for all age groups from the Montessori toddlers to the upper kindergarten students. Children believe and relate to them on multiple levels; they enter and explore the fascinating inventive world that puppets create.

Puppets have positive influences within a preschool classroom as teachers indulge in role play and make believe stories and characters. Puppets can model all relevant, necessary manners and emotions, giving children opportunities for enhancing their communicative and social development skills. Feelings such as patience, understanding, acceptance, self- regulation and empathy can be addressed and explored through many types of puppet play. Puppet classes stimulate children's imagination, encourage creative play and discovery. They can be a powerful way of bringing story time to life; puppets also provide opportunities for shy students to come forward and feel safe enough to indulge in creating their own stories and narratives.

Storytelling+

The inclusion of additional storytelling classes into the reading program for Montessori is quite unique. The broader goal is to benefit the healthy development of a child’s verbal skills, imagination, values, cognitive dexterity, and creative skills. The use of voice modulation, expression, gestures, characterization, dramatization and pace achieves the objective of creating a love for reading.

Puppets are a great tool for storytelling. Teachers make use of this tool extensively to supplement storytelling classes. Puppets are also used as mascots for reading class to allow children to associate concepts quicker and assimilate them better. For example "Neha Noun" or "Vishal Verb" could make an appearance when there is new and challenging vocabulary that needs to be identified. When children consistently see Neha noun each time a new noun is introduced they will encode it better as a noun as learning then becomes multi-sensory.

Another important aspect of using puppets in Pre-Primary is the obvious dramatization or characterisation route where they are assigned specific characters to help bring a story alive to a class.

Students of Montessori are also exposed to weekly sessions in Gardening, Play Area, Sandpit and quiet reading time at the school library.